Flight Safety Information
June 11, 2012 - No. 119
In This Issue
Nigeria: DANA Air Crash - U.S. Investigators Arrive
Peruvians find all 14 bodies in Andes copter crash
Airbus A380 Wing Fix Can Ground Aircraft for Up to 8 Weeks
Kenya helicopter crash kills six government officials
Man accused of disrupting Los Angeles-bound flight
PRISM Certification Consultants
ATR-42 Destroyed by Hanger Fire - Prague
IATA says EU's airline safety bans hinder Africa
Woman pilot makes skilful emergency landing after plane loses nose wheel
(India)
SriLankan Airlines to join global airline alliance
Nigeria: DANA Air Crash - U.S. Investigators Arrive
Lagos - Officials from the United States of America, US, National Transportation Safety
Board have arrived in Nigeria to help investigate the June 3 crash of a Dana Airlines Ltd.
aircraft. The US officials will work alongside Nigeria's Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB.
Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, spokesman, Tunji Oketunbi, said: "They (US
investigators) are working with us to gather materials and evidence. They will be with us
throughout the investigation."
The Dana Airlines flight from Abuja crashed into the heavily populated Iju-Ishaga area of
Lagos on June 3 as it approached the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The
Boeing Co. (BA) (BA) MD-83 plane plunged into residential houses bursting into flames
and killing 153 people on board and 10 on the ground.
The crash-proof recorders on the jet, known as black boxes, were sent to the U.S. last
week for analysis, Oketunbi said.
I warned Dana of pending danger -Akpabio
Meanwhile, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State said, yesterday, that he had
earlier lodged a complaint with the management of Dana Air before the unfortunate
plane crashed at Iju-Ishaga, Lagos on June 3.
Akpabio told reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, that he
intimated the management of the complaints he received about a faulty aircraft being
used by the airline.
He said: "When I received complaints from most Dana Air users in my state, complaining
of what people may call near misses or crashes, like non-operational landing gear and all
sorts of problems I told the management why experimenting with the lives of Nigerians.
I warned the management to recall what happened to ADC airline.
"This was the way ADC started and all of a sudden, they were putting faulty aircraft in
the air. At the end, so many lives were lost and unfortunately, you cannot replace lives."
He said he warned Dana to ensure adequate maintenance or suspend its flight to enable
a thorough check of the aircraft in its fleet, adding: "But unfortunately, that is all in the
past now. The warning probably was not heeded by the management of Dana and a
situation has already occurred.
"May the souls of those who died rest in perfect peace. I pray that we will use the
outcome of the investigation to better the aviation industry."
Proper monitoring of airlines
The governor noted that government must ensure proper monitoring of airlines
operating in the country to ensure they were airworthy.
He also urged the Federal Government to think of how the country would have a
befitting national carrier that would be the first choice to fly.
He said: "A country with 160 million people without a national carrier is unthinkable,
because almost half of the population have no access to airplanes.
"It is because of the gap that people are trying to fill as a result of the absence of a
national carrier that we are having mushroom airlines coming on board.
"I think it is something we must sit down and think about again because the situation
now is urgent. We must not even delay it."
Akpabio noted that aviation and transport were part of social services which all level of
governments should not ignore, otherwise, the public would continue to be exposed to
extortion and dangers.
He noted: "It took America, Britain and others bailing out private companies for them to
survive. Like the General Motors in America, the government has to bail it out to
survive."
"Governments all over the world are going back into private businesses to ensure the
businesses succeed. It is clear that governments cannot ignore some services that have
social service connotation."
http://allafrica.com/stories/201206110192.html
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Peruvians find all 14 bodies in Andes copter crash
OCONGATE, Peru (AP) - A police rescue team on Sunday recovered the bodies of all 14
people who died in a fiery helicopter crash high in the snowy Andes, and Quechua
Indians from nearby villages helped carry the remains down the steep slopes.
On a rocky mountain lays what officials say is debris from the wreckage of a helicopter in
the department of Cuzco, Peru, Saturday, June 9, 2012. Rescue specialists on Saturday
located the wreckage of a helicopter that went down on Mama Rosa mountain in a snowy
part of the southeastern Andes with 14 people aboard, including eight South Koreans
and three Europeans, Peru's police chief said.
Police Gen. Hector Dulanto said the bodies were first taken to Ocongate, the nearest
town to the accident, but were being moved by police vans to the morgue in Cuzco, the
regional capital.
Officials said DNA tests or dental identification would be needed to identify at least five
or six of the victims. The helicopter exploded when it hit the mountainside and all the
bodies were burned, some severely, police said.
As the search team found bodies during the day, the remains were put into black bags.
Local villagers then hoisted the bags onto their backs and carried them down the
mountain.
The Sikorsky S-58ET helicopter was carrying eight South Koreans and three Peruvians as
well as citizens of the Netherlands, Sweden and the Czech Republic when it crashed
Wednesday on Mama Rosa mountain at an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 meters).
The Koreans were exploring sites for a possible hydroelectric plant. They were employed
by Samsung C&T Corp., Korea Water Resources Corp., Korea Engineering Consultants
Corp. and Seoyeong Co.
Eighteen South Korean relatives of those aboard the helicopter were flying to Peru to
recover the remains, said South Korean Consul Hwangroh Lee, who went to Cuzco, the
city where the helicopter flight originated.
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Airbus A380 Wing Fix Can Ground Aircraft for Up to 8 Weeks
June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS said airlines flying the A380 double decker will need
to ground their planes for as long as eight weeks when the wings undergo permanent
repair work that is more complex than an interim fix being done now.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy, speaking in Beijing at the annual general
meeting of the International Air Transport Association, confirmed the time frame, after
Emirates President Tim Clark said the final fix can take eight weeks.
"Of course we are not happy, but we have to live with it," Clark said in the interview
today in Beijing. "There was an error in design and specification of metals and plastic
composite to the aircraft. They are making detailed studies of what happened and what
they have to do."
The wing-crack debacle has cost Airbus parent European Aeronautic, Defence and Space
co. more than 250 million euros ($315 million) in repair and service costs, and the
manufacturer has said the issue will occupy the company for years. Emirates is the
biggest A380 customer, having ordered 90 aircraft in total. The company has already
taken delivery of 21 of the double-decker planes. It has 14 more scheduled for delivery
that will require the eight-week removal from service.
EADS rose as much as 3 percent, or 81 cents, to 27.69 euros, and traded at 27.08 euros
as of 12:06 p.m. in Paris, as European equity markets advanced.
Delivered With Defect
The cracks are the result of new technologies mixed with insufficient design controls.
Airbus engineers have determined an altered design for the wing that would use different
materials. Once safety authorities have approved the change, Airbus can alter
manufacturing of the wings in Broughton, Wales, allowing aircraft coming off the
production line by January 2014 to be free of the defect.
Planes delivered from now until the beginning of 2014 still contain the defect, and
require both short-term fixes if cracks develop, as well as the permanent repair that can
take eight weeks per plane.
Airlines taking delivery before 2014 will have the choice between an immediate,
permanent fix once the planes come off production lines, or repairs in stages during
required maintenance checks after about two and four years, Leahy said.
The interim repairs that come first are supposed to take about six days, according to
Airbus. Clark said some of his planes were out of service for 42 days to get the fix.
'Hugely Expensive'
"It's taking quite a long time because we have the largest fleet," Clark said. "Will it get
done? Of course it will get done. Is the aircraft safe to fly? Of course it's safe. It's just a
burden for us."
Emirates isn't seeking compensation and merely wants the job done, which is "hugely
expensive" for Airbus, Clark said. He said Emirates has proposed that Airbus stop
producing A380s and sort out the issue first, though Airbus rejected the idea. A report in
La Depeche saying the grounding may take as long as three months is wrong, an Airbus
spokesman said.
Airbus has traced the cause of the cracks to the choice of a less flexible aluminum alloy
used to make the wing brackets, as well as the way in which fasteners are put through
holes, and the stresses involved in fitting portions of the wing together.
The short-term, or interim fix has been applied to more than a third of the about 75
A380s in service. That solution will be applied to other operating A380s as the number of
landings and takeoffs reaches a threshold mandated by regulators that requires the fix.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/06/11/bloomberg_articlesM5G0HN1A74E901-
M5G6Y.DTL#ixzz1xUKZPg38
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Kenya helicopter crash kills six government officials
A Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil operated by the Kenya Police Air Wing, 5Y-CDT,
crashed on Sunday, Jane 10, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. local time, in the Ngong Hills, above
Nairobi, Kenya killing 2 government ministers and 4 other officials aboard the helicopter,
as reported on that date by the Aviation Safety Network, China Network Television,
Capital FM News, The Washington Post, and other media sources.
The helicopter had just taken off from Wilson Airport (WIL) and was headed to Oyugis,
near Homa Bay Airport, for a church service when it went down into the Kibiku forest on
the outskirts of the East African country's capital, as seen in the attached slide show and
video clip.
Those who perished in the aircraft accident included Internal Security Minister George
Saitoti and his deputy, Orwa Ojode. Two pilots, Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja, as well
as bodyguards Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergeant Thomas Murimi also died in the
crash, according to government officials. All six victims were badly burned and charred
beyond recognition.
The government has declared three days of mourning on behalf of the victims. Mwai
Kibaki, the President of Kenya, was shocked when informed of the fatal crash, and
issued a statement saying, "The deaths of the six Kenyans is a devastating loss to our
country. Minister Saitoti was a hardworking and determined public servant who
dedicated his time to the service of the Kenyan people."
According to reports in the Capital FM News of Nairobi, the fatal crash occurred on the
fourth anniversary of the death of former Minister Kipkalya Kones and the late MP for
Sotik, Lorna Laboso, who both also perished in a plane crash in the same area.
Internal Security Minister Saitoti was an American-trained economist and mathematician,
and a high profile figure in Kenyan politics. For over 10 years he was a deputy to former
President Daniel arap Moi, and directly involved in a decision to send troops to Somalia
last year in the aftermath of deadly attacks blamed on the Somali militant group Al-
Shabab.
That group, in a message sent from its Twitter account, applauded what it called "the
death of the evil minister," saying Saitoti was "Better off dead!" The militant group
blamed him for the suffering of Muslims in Somalia and Kenya.
The crash is being investigated by high ranking security officials, who will also consider
rumors of possible sabotage or an attack by outside terrorists.
The $3.2 million dollar Eurocopter is widely used around the world by private individuals,
airline and charter operators, emergency medical teams, governments, and law
enforcement agencies.
A photograph dated February 22, 2012 shows the single engine helicopter at Wilson
Airport in Nairobi, soon after it was delivered to the Kenya Police, joining their fleet of
three Russian-made Mil Mi-17 helicopters, one Canadian-made Bell 206 Long Ranger
copter, and two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan fixed wing aircraft.
The model AS350B3e is a high performance version that was introduced in late 2011,
equipped with the Arriel 2D engine, and is the first ever helicopter to land on Mount
Everest. An earlier model Ecureuil AS350B3 piloted by Didier Delsalle landed at about
29,029 feet on the top of the Mount Everest on May 14, 2005. The aircraft remained on
the summit longer than 2 minutes before returning to Lukla, Nepal.
The helicopter has a top speed of 178 miles an hour, a cruising speed of 152 miles an
hour, a range of 411 miles, and a rate of climb of 1,675 feet per minute.
http://www.examiner.com/article/kenya-helicopter-crash-kills-six-government-officials
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Man accused of disrupting Los Angeles-bound flight
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Authorities were considering charges after a man allegedly became
disruptive aboard a US Airways flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles, an FBI spokesman
said Saturday.
The 29-year-old man was believed to have been intoxicated and was refused alcohol
aboard Flight 705 on Friday night, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
The man, whose name wasn't released, got out of his seat at one point, according to
Eimiller, and was eventually restrained.
There's no indication the incident was terrorism-related and there were no reports of any
injuries.
Susan Roberts, a passenger aboard the plane, said the man rushed toward the cockpit
door carrying a lighter and was intercepted by a female flight attendant. She added the
attendant was aided by several passengers and the man was handcuffed for the
remainder of the flight.
"He was yelling something like, 'I have to get up there,'" Roberts said. "It was
completely horrifying."
Roberts' boyfriend, Jeffrey Smith, said he saw the flight attendant stop the man in front
of the cockpit and began pushing him toward the back of the plane. Smith said he and
several passengers helped get the man in his seat within five minutes.
"He was resisting the entire time," Smith said. "He was belligerent and yelling. The flight
attendant showed great grace under pressure and truly knew what she was doing."
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ATR-42 Destroyed by Hanger Fire - Prague
Date:
09 JUN 2012
Time:
21:15
Type:
ATR-42-500
Operator:
CSA Czech Airlines
Registration:
OK-KFM
C/n / msn:
635
First flight:
2005-03-03 (7 years 3 months)
Crew:
Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Passengers:
Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:
Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Airplane damage:
Destroyed
Airplane fate:
Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:
Praha-Ruzyne International Airport (PRG) (Czech Republic)
Phase:
Standing (STD)
Narrative:
An ATR-42-500 passenger plane was destroyed in a fire at Prague, Czech Republic. One
maintenance worker was injured.
The airplane was parked inside Czech Airlines Technics' Hangar F for maintenance when
reportedly an explosion occurred, followed by a fire. The airplane burned out completely.
Another airplane in the hangar, ATR-42 OK-JFK sustained some damage.
www.aviation-safety.net
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IATA says EU's airline safety bans hinder Africa
The wreckage of a cargo plane sits just off the runway in Ghana's capital Accra June 3,
2012.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Airlines have urged Western governments to do more to improve
safety in Africa, and accused the European Union of failing to grasp the continent's needs
by banning dozens of carriers.
The head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents most
major airlines, said a list of operators banned from the EU included several that are safe,
that and the EU failed to aid others needing practical help.
Plane crashes in Nigeria and Ghana have killed over 160 people in the past week,
increasing concerns over Africa's safety record.
"The airlines on the EU blacklist are on it because the EU hasn't adequate confidence in
the safety oversight provided by regulatory authorities, so the airline can be perfectly
safe but the EU decides the regulator isn't doing its job," said IATA's Tony Tyler, director
general of the Geneva-based airline lobby.
IATA says its members must pass a tough check-up called the IATA Operational Safety
Audit IOSA.L. Airlines in the scheme, which also contains many non-IATA members, had
a 53 percent better safety record last year than ones outside it, Tyler said.
"This is why we think the EU banned list is a misguided approach. It is not helping
anybody and it is not improving safety."
The latest EU blacklist includes 279 carriers from 21 states, 14 of which countries are
African.
The list includes a handful of IATA members including Sudan Airways and part of the
fleet operated by Air Madagascar.
IATA says African aviation safety improved from 2010 to 2011, but the continent's
accident rate is still the worst in the world.
"DOUBLE STANDARDS"
A Boeing McDonnell Douglas MD-83, operated by privately owned Dana Air, hit an
apartment block as it was coming in to land in Lagos last Sunday, killing 153 people in
Nigeria's worst air disaster for decades.
The crash came 24 hours after a Boeing 727 cargo jet operated by Nigerian carrier Allied
Air overshot the runway at an airport in the Ghanaian capital Accra and veered onto a
street, killing at least 10.
It was the first crash in decades in Ghana, whose airspace has a fairly strong safety
record compared with other West African countries.
A spokesman for the European Commission defended the system of banning airlines in
countries with poor a safety regime.
"The safety performance of an airline depends on several factors, not only on the
airworthiness of aircraft: for instance pilot and crew training and fitness and airline
safety procedures," he said.
IATA's Tyler said the EU let European airlines serve countries whose own carriers were
banned not necessarily as a result of the failings of non-EU carriers, but because of
concerns over regulation of airspace.
"It smacks of double standards and is the wrong approach," he said.
"The right one is to get in there and help resolve the deficiency in regulatory oversight.
Let's go and assist the regulators to remedy that deficiency - putting their airlines on a
blacklist isn't the right approach," he added.
IATA, whose 242 member airlines are holding a major industry gathering in Beijing on
June 10-12, says it has come up with a five-point plan to improve safety in Africa.
It includes helping airlines collect data that can be analysed to avoid future problems.
Other measures include more training to help pilots avoid sliding off runways, a common
cause of accidents where weather is often extremely bad, and infrastructure is poor.
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Woman pilot makes skilful emergency landing after plane loses nose wheel
(India)
RISING TO THE OCCASION: A TV grab of Air India flight AI-9760 after it made an
emergency landing at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International airport in Guwahati
on Sunday. It lost one of its front-wheels during takeoff from Silchar. At right is Captain
Urmila Yadav, who landed the plane safely.
A woman pilot averted an air tragedy on Sunday by her deft handling of a Guwahati-
bound aircraft after it lost one of its nosewheels during takeoff from the Kumbhirgram
airport in Silchar.
The ATR aircraft had 48 passengers. Its five-member crew comprised three women,
including the pilot.
Captain Urmila Yadav, circled the Air India flight AI-9760 over the Lokapriya Gopinath
Bardoloi International (LGBI) airport here for about one hour before she made a skilful
emergency landing.
Earlier she asked the crew to shift some goods from the cockpit to the rear to reduce the
load on the front, to facilitate safe landing.
The passengers thanked the pilot for saving their lives.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi congratulated Captain Urmila and co-pilot Yashu. "Hats off to
you and your co-pilot for your daring and courageous act which saved the precious lives
of passengers," he told her over the phone, an official release said.
Narrating his experience, noted Assamese linguist and a senior official of the Assam
Agricultural University Sumanta Chaliha told The Hindu the passengers got wind of the
emergency situation only when the crew gave flight safety demonstration for the second
time after flying for about 30 minutes.
"When we asked the crew if anything had gone wrong, we were told that there was a
minor technical snag and it was being taken care of. However, after some time they
made a formal announcement of an emergency landing. We came to know that the
aircraft lost one of its nose wheels. A woman passenger seated in front of me fainted and
several passengers started crying. I was calm and composed, leaving everything to
God.
"We came to know that the aircraft flew extra time to burn fuel midair and as soon as
the aircraft landed the engine was switched off. It came to a halt quickly. While getting
down I noticed that one of the nose wheels was missing."
It was the Air Traffic Control (ATC) of the Indian Air Force at Kumbhirgram which noticed
that something had fallen off the aircraft after it took off. It then alerted the LGBI ATC.
"We knew that the aircraft was coming with a wheel of nose assembly missing. The pilot
was informed and asked if she would land or fly off. When she said she would land, she
was asked to do a mandatory low pass so that the ground staff could inspect the nose
assembly. We requested her to hold over Guwahati for sometime till we cleared the
runway. A Kolkata-bound Spicejet flight was allowed to take off and an in-coming Air
India flight from Delhi allowed to land. After the runway was cleared, the aircraft was
allowed to land. The pilot really did a skilful landing and handled the entire situation very
well. If the aircraft had made a normal landing without knowing that one of its nose
wheels was missing then anything could have happened," said an ATC official.
The scheduled departure of the flight from Silchar was 7.20 a.m. but it was delayed due
to inclement weather. The flight took off at 9 a.m.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-
states/article3511868.ece?homepage=true
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SriLankan Airlines to join global airline alliance
Beijing, June 11 - Global airline alliance 'Oneworld' Monday said the Colombo-based
SriLankan Airlines would join its ranks towards the end of 2012.
Nordic carrier Finnair, which is part of 'Oneworld' alliance, welcomed the move which will
help other airlines who are part of the pact to provide competitive prices, cost savings
and add more destinations to the alliance's network.
"SriLankan Airlines' joining of the alliance means further growth in the coverage of South
Asia and strengthens the competitiveness of Oneworld in a globally competitive
environment," said Paavo Virkkunen, responsible for Oneworld relations at Finnair.
"Finnair's connections to SriLankan Airlines' destinations, such as the Maldives, will
improve as a result and the Finnair-plus loyal customer programme will widen to include
SriLankan's network."
The selection of SriLankan Airlines for membership was announced on the sidelines of
the International Air Transport Association (IATA) World Transport summit being held in
Beijing.
The airline will also bring in three new destinations in southern India to the 'Oneworld'
network, namely Kochi, Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram.
Currently, the alliance has 12 airline members and two member-elect passenger carriers.
After SriLankan Airlines' accession to the alliance, the Oneworld network will cover about
860 destinations in over 150 countries.
http://india.nydailynews.com/business/45dc32a8ca7d0596fd4cab317fdb58f3/srilankan-
airlines-to-join-global-airline-alliance
Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI
CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC